The recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in some countries has produced another wave of political panic for the US to lay baseless accusations against the People’s Republic of China. The origin of the virus is once again being weaponized by Western imperialist countries led by the US.
Over the past several years, academics from universities and research institutes as well as experts from the World Health Organization have conducted numerous investigations on the origins of COVID-19. So far, no consensus has been reached, although numerous hypotheses have been proposed.
As the famous US author Mark Twain observed over a century ago, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. To this day, the ruling administrations in Twain’s homeland show no interest in finding the truth. They rather take advantage of any situation to advance hidden political agendas.
Immersed in its past colonial glories, US ruling elites are reluctant to face a multipolar new world order in which rising countries in the eastern hemisphere gradually assert themselves as sovereign powers. Unwilling to embrace the new paradigm shift, the US increasingly resorts to political bullying against any country it perceives as a threat to its world dominance. Obviously, it fails to understand that it is a long time since world affairs could be dominated by a handful of Western powers. In the new era, all countries, big or small, rich or poor, East or West, have the right to participate in international affairs as equal partners.
In its struggle for hegemony, the US often demonizes its competitors and enemies, real or imagined, making them look bad despite of reality. It is a zero-sum game, which the US has learned to play so well. Yet, this practice practically benefits no parties involved and has raised high tensions in international relationships.
The US authorities have a long history of blaming other countries for the sins they themselves have committed. For instance, in 1918 when the Great Influenza epidemic first appeared in Kansas, the US deliberately gave it the misleading name “Spanish Flu” in order to conceal its true origin. It really draws a parallel this time around as the US is keen on designating Wuhan as where the COVID-19 actually originated, which is entirely different from where it was first detected.
On the other hand, China places a high priority on peace, cooperation and mutual benefits. China’s vision to build a community of shared future for humankind, which is based on both Chinese tradition and socialist values, has gained a tremendous amount of support from the international community, particularly in the global south and among progressives.
Doubtless, it is in humanity’s best interest to discover the real cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which millions of lives worldwide have been lost. Nevertheless, the undertaking is essentially a scientific matter, and therefore should be investigated and determined by scientists without the interference of any political forces. To paraphrase a biblical expression: give to politics what belongs to politics, and give to science what belongs to science.
Do not mess politics with science – let scientists, not US imperialism, determine where the COVID-19 virus is coming from.
China Solidarity Committee
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